Toy construction



Get. 21,1947.

B. BENNETT 2w429,2l3

TOY CONSTRUCTION Filed Sept. 14, 1 944 I N VEN TOR. 05M 7" 5. ans #577 Patented Oct. 21,1947

UNIT ED STATES PAT E F F TOY GONSTRUG'EION' Robert B. Bennett, Detroit, Mich.-

Application- September 14, 1944, Serial No. 554,060

6 Claims.

1'- 'Ihis invention relates to: toy vehicle construeti'on, and. more particularly to a combination rolliing and rocking vehicle furnishing amusement,

exercise and transportation for children or adults. It is. the object of this invention to provide a toy construction embodying a: rolling and} rocking vehicle characterized by a high. degree of safety Fig. l is a top plan. view of the rolling: toy.

Fig. 2 is a side elevational. View thereof, and

Fig. 3 is a side elevational view of the rolling toy inverted as a rocker;

It will be understood that the above figures are merel illustrations of a preferable embodiment of the invention. and that. other embodiments are contemplated within the scope of the invention as set out in the appended claims.

In the drawing; Figs. 1 and- 2', the rolling vehicle. consists of parallel spaced arcuately formed members. M and I2 preferably joined at their opposite ends by transverse bumper cross members l3 and I4.

Members H and 2 forming the sides of the rolling toy are maintained rigidly by the intermediate cross bars i5, i6, I 1 and I8, upon I5 and I8 of which is provisioned and secured longitudinally disposed seat l9; Said seat may benarrow, as shown, throughout its length or on the other hand may be very wide fully covering the rear space between members H and I2 and being cut narrow at its forward part to accommodate the legs of the rider.

As shown in Fig. 2 a slightly inclined back 20 is provided for seat l9, which extends therefrom and is suitably secured to cross bar It.

Angular front wheel supporting and steering shaft 2| is rotatably provisioned and supported centrally by thrust bearing 22 carried by seat l9. Collar bearing 23 secured to cross bar ll provides an upper journal for steering post 2|, upon the upper end of which is provisioned steering Wheel 24.

Drive wheat 25 rotatably journaled at.v the bot.- tomiendlcii steering: post 2|. has. secured thereto cross shaft. 2b, upon opposite; ends of which are provisioned wheel rotating foot pedals 2'! and 28.

It: is contemplated that said. pedals: may be omitted; with. wheel. 25' being rotatable relative to cross shaft. 2t which would act merely as a foot.

rest.

While wheelt 25 is: adapted: as a central front support for the toy, a pair of spaced smaller wheels 29: and 30 are journaled and retained. preferably on stud shafts 3t and 32 extending from the inner ends of parallel members H and I2 respectively. Atricycle gear is thus. provided. for the rollingztoy. On the other hand wheels 29 and 332 may be journaled from a. single. transverse sha-ttr Protruding. or extending end members |3Eand i4 provide bumpers; adaptedto. minnnizeor eliminate damage to: the woodwork or furniture when the toy is operated carelessly. It is noted alsov that the lower edges .of. members; 13 and M1 are. very near the; floor makingit impossible for the toy to run over: anything or hurt another child. Ob.- stacles' are thus; pushedout of the instead of being run. over, asmight be theca-se with. the conventional tricycle.

Referring to Fig. 3 the rolling toy is shown inverted to be used as a rocking toy. A pair of spaced parallel braces 33 and- 34 interconnect the ends. of arcuate members II and i2 respectively, being suitably secured by screws 35 or by bolts or even welds,. if desired. Members 33 and 34 thus provide guards for the rider. The sides may be fully enclosed by members 36, fragmentarily shown in Fig. 3, interposed between guards 33 and 34 and rocker members II and |2 respectively, secured by suitable screws 31', or bolts or welds, if desired.

It is. contemplated, however, that side members 36 may be eliminated if desired; though a greater .degree of safety is attained when these members are used, particularly for small children.

Seat member l9 inverted in Fig. 3 is also the seat for the rocking toy as shown in Fig. 3. Flat member 38 resting on seat l9 and angularly inclined and secured against cross bar l5 and end member l3 provides a back rest.

rocker members II and [2. Guards 40 form foot rests and prevent the childs feet from being crushed or hurt by accidentally slipping under rockers H or l2.

A further safety feature resides in the portions 42 and 43 forming part of seat l9, which extend beyond the edges of rockers H and I2, Projecting members 42 and 43 as well as the cross members l3 and I4, limit the degree of rocking movement making it practically impossible to rock the toy too far.

The rocking and rolling toy may be made of any suitable material such as metal, plastics, or wood. The various members, i. e., rockers It and I2 and cross bars l5, l6, l1 and IB may be in any desired form, such as rod, tubing, channel or angle members.

It will be noted that bumper members 13 and I4 make it practically impossible to upset the toy when used as a rolling toy, said bracing members extending the full width of the toy would stop any upsetting movement immediately upon either engaging the floor or other riding surface.

Bumpers l3 and I4, which may be omitted for convenience, are formed arcuately at their ends to join rockers H and I2 eliminating sharp corners which could injure a, person. The lack of any sharp protruding angles in the toy thus provides an additional safety feature.

Having described my invention, reference should now be had to the claims which follow for determining the scope thereof.

I claim: p I

1. A rolling and rocking toy comprising a pair of spaced arcuate side members with their central portions extending upwardly, spaced reinforcing bumper members secured to the opposite ends of said arcuate members, a seat supported between said side members, a central steering and supporting front wheelextending from one end of said seat, and a pair of spaced rear wheels journaled by and extending from the ends of said arcuate members, said side members being upsettable 180 to provide a central rocking support.

2. A rolling and rocking toy comprising a pair of spaced arcuate side members with their central portions extending upwardly, spaced reinforcing bumper members secured to the opposite ends of said arcuate members, a plurality of spaced cross bars interposed between said side members, a seat supported between said side members, a central steering and supporting front wheel extending from one end of said seat, and a pair of spaced rear wheels journaled by and extending from the ends of said arcuate members, said side members being upsettable 180 to provide a central rocking support.

3. A rolling and rocking toy comprising a pair of spaced arcuate side members with their central portions extending upwardly, spaced reinforcing bumper members secured to the opposite ends of said arcuate members, a plurality of spaced cross bars interposed between said side members, a seat supported between said side members, a central steering and supporting front wheel extending from one end of said seat, and a pair of spaced rear Wheels journaled by and extending from the ends of said arcuate members, said side members being upsettable to provide a central rocking support, the ends of said seat member extending outside said arcuate members for limiting rocking movements.

4. A rolling and rocking toy comprising a pair of spaced arcuate side members with their central portions extending upwardly, spaced reinforcing bumper members secured to the opposite ends of said arcuate members, a plurality of spaced cross bars interposed between said members, a seat supported between said side members, a tricycle rolling gear extending below the ends of said arcuate members, side bars extending between the ends of each arcuate member, and side wall members interposed between said arcuate members and said side bars.

5. A rolling and rocking toy comprising a pair of spaced arcuate side members with their central portions extending upwardly, a seat supported between said side members, a central steering wheel extending from one end of said seat, and a pair of spaced rear wheels journaled by and extending from the ends of said arcuate members, said toy being rotatable 180 whereby said side members provide a central rocking support.

6. A rolling and rocking toy comprising a pair of spaced arcuate side members with their central portions extending upwardly, a seat supported between said side members, a central steering and supporting front wheel extending from one end of said seat, and a pair of spaced rear wheels journaled by and extending from the ends of said arcuate members, said side members being upsettable 180 to provide a central rocking support, the ends of said seat member extending outside said arcuate members for limiting rocking movements.

ROBERT B. BENNETT.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,481,650 Murphy Jan. 22, 1924 1,872,216 Appleby Aug. 16, 1932 326,241 Preston Sept. 15, 1885 1,754,112 Lusse Apr. 8, 1930 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 22,950 Great Britain Nov. 30, 1895 38,223 Austria Aug. 10, 1909 

